He pleaded guilty at Durham Crown Court to indecency and indecent assault and was given 12 months concurrently for each offence.

He was also ordered to sign on the sex offenders' register for five years.

Tinning played a game of cards with the girl and said the loser had to take off their clothes.

The court then heard how he then indecently assaulted her. Tinning then told the girl: "I am a pervert."

He also showed the girl sex images from one of the pornographic magazines. After the ordeal he warned the girl she could not tell anyone what had happened.

Tinning worked as a salesman for waste disposal firm Ciris, based in Co Durham.

He was sentenced to three years in prison in 1985 for an armed robbery on a petrol station in Chester-le-Street, Co Durham.

Today the girl's mum said: "At least he has been put in prison. Given the fact I was told he might not get a custodial sentence.

"I am pleased that the judge saw fit to put him away from society. He is a sex monster.

"He has taken away my daughter's innocence. He has forced her to grow up before she was ready.

"She is going to need a lot of counselling. She will get a lot of support from the people around her. She is coping as well as we could have hoped.

"At least she had the strength and trust to be able to speak out about this. He threatened her not to speak about what had happened. He told her not to tell me."

The sentence was today slammed as lenient by a children's charity. Michele Elliot, director of Kidscape, said: "I would like to see people like this put in to prison for at least five years and made to have compulsory counselling.

"Twelve months is going to do nothing for people like him - probably he'll only serve six months. It is distressing on the part of the victims that abusers can be let out so soon.

"It is also better if you give these crimes longer sentences and made them get therapy then they would be less likely to reoffend.

"If you put them in prison for such a short time nothing changes and then when they get out they are much more likely to abuse again."

In mitigation Brian Martin, defending, said it was a one off and Tinning was not at risk of reoffending.